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Parramatta Westfield: Taylor Namulauulu pleads guilty to wielding knife

Shocked witnesses captured the terrifying moment a knife-wielding youth brought traffic to a standstill as he went on a rampage outside Westfield Parramatta.

Brawl erupts on Parramatta street (7 News Sydney)

Knife-wielding youth Taylor Namulauulu, who brought traffic outside Westfield Parramatta to a standstill during a shocking brawl, has pleaded guilty to the incident recorded by shocked onlookers in the middle of the day.

The 22-year-old father appeared at Parramatta Local Court on Thursday where his lawyer entered a plea of guilty to charges of affray and armed with intent to commit an indictable offence at the corner of Argyle and Church streets on June 18, 2019, at 1.05pm.

Initial charges including using a knife in a public place were dropped.

Facts tendered to the court reveal the Greystanes man brandished a knife towards four males walking along Church St after he got out of a silver Honda he was driving when stopped at the traffic lights.

The wild brawl at the traffic lights outside Westfield. Picture: 7 News
The wild brawl at the traffic lights outside Westfield. Picture: 7 News

Shockers onlookers pulled out their mobiles and recording the dramatic brawl as it unfolded.

As he stopped at the intersection, the group ran towards Namulauulu in his silver Honda and an unknown man of Pacific Islander appearance in a fluorescent orange shirt got out of the front passenger door armed with a knife, followed by Namulauulu who was also armed with a knife in his right hand.

Namulauulu approached one of the males and “used a slashing motion towards his chest area” before he “moved towards another male and lunged towards him with the knife in slashing motion towards his neck” and a fight erupted in the middle of the intersection where they hurled punches at one another.

The man in the orange shirt was a passenger in Taylor Namulauulu’s car but he told police he didn’t know his name or where he lived. Picture: 7 News
The man in the orange shirt was a passenger in Taylor Namulauulu’s car but he told police he didn’t know his name or where he lived. Picture: 7 News

Court documents state Namulauulu continued to run around wielding the knife “which was in clear view of the public before he lunged at another unidentified male with the knife aiming towards the left side of his body”.

Another man armed with a knife ran towards a youth before getting back into Namulauulu’s car, along with the man wearing the orange shirt, who was punched by two men as he opened the rear door.

The brawl was captured on CCTV footage. Picture: 7 News
The brawl was captured on CCTV footage. Picture: 7 News

Namulauulu ran a red light and fled the scene with the entire incident lasting just over two minutes.

He was arrested at his Tregear house on June 20 and charged at Mt Druitt police station. During a police interview, Namulauulu told police he did not know the names of the passengers because he met them just 10 minutes before.

He said a motorbike stopped in front of him at the intersection but CCTV footage showed no vehicles were parked in front.

“Um, they were running towards us,’’ he said in the electronically recorded interview.

“You know, like throwing punches and what not. So yeah, that’s the only reason I jumped out cause I was prepared to run the red light to get away, get out of Parramatta, but because the motorbike stopped in front of me I didn’t want to run him over, so I didn’t want to be sitting in the car, sitting ducks, so they can smash the windows and do what they needed to do.”

Taylor Namulauulu leaves Parramatta Local Court after pleading guilty to affray.
Taylor Namulauulu leaves Parramatta Local Court after pleading guilty to affray.

But the documents continued: “There was a motorcycle behind the accused however the rider moved out of the way and around the accused as soon as they fight broke out. This footage also shows that the accused opened his door and ran towards the other males armed with a knife as soon as he stopped his vehicle and well before any punches were thrown.”

Magistrate Robyn Denes adjourned the matter to February 11 so a sentencing assessment could be prepared.

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/parramatta/parramatta-westfield-taylor-namulauulu-pleads-guilty-to-wielding-knife/news-story/768a59186f6fb39bd6a54aa57c4e168c